I am one of these guys thats always on time for everything,paranoid about traffic,diversions,a road being closed and i hate thinking i have missed out on something or let someone down due to my lateness. So on Sunday morning,i set off from Renfrew at 6:30am and headed for Knockhill just in case there was issues which inturn meant that i may miss out on the registration & safety breifing that was essential for the track day. Turned out that the roads were dead and i arrived at 7:45 and thats with a coffee stop at a petrol station. I was the only Porsche there,oh well,better to be early than late i thought to myself although to be honest, i felt a bit sad parked up there alone, a bit like an over-eager child getting up early to see what Santa Claus had left. So i sat in my car and watched Helen Dobson and her team getting the area ready,the admin side/paperwork getting put in place,all the marketing stuff like the Porsche & Ferrari flags being hoisted,kettle getting turned on in the hospitality area with coffee and biscuits etc,etc. The highlight og getting there so early was seeing/hearing the orange Lamborghini Superlegeri and F430 Spider being driven round to sit in place just off the pit lane "" Surprisingly this is were they would sit for the rest of the day "" Passenger rides i assume were a no no.
I was instructed by Helen to park in my designated area next to a sign stating WHITE group,white group was the beginners,newbies,track virgins,flappers,call it what you like but basically the guys that either had not tracked before or were paranoid of crashing there pride & joy so were in a group with less-quick cars/drivers. Next group up was Orange(Very Handy),Purple(Experienced) and Black(Maniacs).
As the time passed on, car after car appeared from a 968 CS,various 996's to a stunning red F360 Spider. Registration took place, VIP passes,vouchers and colored wrist bands were handed out.Full English breakfast was served and paid for with voucher. Safety briefing took place and although brief was very informative and did help ease the tension i was currently under. 3 instructors were pointed out "" A Knockhill Chap,Porsche GB fellow and cant remember who the 3rd person was. I was wanting to get some advice from them but so were the rest of the white group so i settled at the thought of going out by myself. Brian(Kitchens) had advised that all i need to do is take my time,anyone that wants to go by you will go by you but i knew the hidden boy racer in me may take over and i may end up in the gravel.
So the Black team proceeded to hit the track, the speed that a certain 996 GT3RS(Gordon) was doing along the straights was unbelievable,480 bhp 997 TT's & F430's were left in his wake. Car after car sped passed at incredible speed and for a second i thought "" what the hell have i got myself into here,i cant go out there,i may crash?I am not even bloody insured for this track day? What kind of excuse can i make and sneak off?...... BUT............. to the rescue in his Brown Leather jacket & still sporting a George Michael stubble stood Mike58 (I had met Mike at the Sherbrook a few weeks passed and he had gave me some tips on track days), i asked if he would mind going out on track with me giving me advice,pointing out what i was doing wrong,were to accelerate,were to brake,the racing lines etc, so he agreed.
The white team was called out after Black,Purple & Orange had been out ripping up the track. I waited in the que behin a couple of Boxsters,997 C2,EVO IV,968's and a Ferrari 360. Mike sat next to me,the nerves that i had settled and as the red lights went off, i proceeded to inch up the pit lane,car after car from the White group joined the track. I asked Mike "" Do i floor it at the start? To which he replied YES, The C4S sped out but just i was feeling a bit comfortable the SEAT curves arrived, slight panic as i realised the gradient of the track was now downhill which meant i hit the brakes a bit more/early than was required but Mike assured me just to try and follow the cones,accelerate when i tell you,brake when i tell you, go right up to the cones and only turn when you have just passed them "" that advice was all that i needed and i proceeded to go round the track with only the Evo IV & 997 C2 going passed me so i felt ok.Chequered flag came up and i was advised to glide round the final lap letting the car cool down,car was parked up and left in gear without handbrake & trye pressures were taken & corrected if required (i am surprised that this type of advice is not given to the newbies as everyone else had there handbrakes yanked up).
I thought i had done a good job but i wanted to know what a C4S can do around a track in experienced hands so for the next 15min slot Mike took the car with me as passenger and showed me how the C4S can be driven,the speeds that we hit was incredible,the way he followed the lines helped the car shoot out of each corner at a speed i thought was impossible, i started to like my car as i had read allot of stuff on forums about the C4S being too heavy,a fake TT,not a track car,4WD getting in the way etc,etc but for me, it felt quick enough,brakes done there job and it handled better than i had imagined so the day was just getting better.
I took the car out myself for the rest of the day and by the last session i was the one doing the overtaking(safely may i add),i was hitting maybe 110-115 along the straights and although i am still nowhere near the level of Mike,Scott(Lauris),Gordon(GT3RS), i felt that i had learned allot, i understood the lines,i understood the braking points,i had actually driven a Porsche almost how i assume they should be driven. Now i do believe all the hype behind these cars.
Great day out and a big thanks to Mike,rest of the guys on the Forum,special thanks to Helen Dobson and the Sytner group for putting on a great day. I cant wait for the next one.
I was instructed by Helen to park in my designated area next to a sign stating WHITE group,white group was the beginners,newbies,track virgins,flappers,call it what you like but basically the guys that either had not tracked before or were paranoid of crashing there pride & joy so were in a group with less-quick cars/drivers. Next group up was Orange(Very Handy),Purple(Experienced) and Black(Maniacs).
As the time passed on, car after car appeared from a 968 CS,various 996's to a stunning red F360 Spider. Registration took place, VIP passes,vouchers and colored wrist bands were handed out.Full English breakfast was served and paid for with voucher. Safety briefing took place and although brief was very informative and did help ease the tension i was currently under. 3 instructors were pointed out "" A Knockhill Chap,Porsche GB fellow and cant remember who the 3rd person was. I was wanting to get some advice from them but so were the rest of the white group so i settled at the thought of going out by myself. Brian(Kitchens) had advised that all i need to do is take my time,anyone that wants to go by you will go by you but i knew the hidden boy racer in me may take over and i may end up in the gravel.
So the Black team proceeded to hit the track, the speed that a certain 996 GT3RS(Gordon) was doing along the straights was unbelievable,480 bhp 997 TT's & F430's were left in his wake. Car after car sped passed at incredible speed and for a second i thought "" what the hell have i got myself into here,i cant go out there,i may crash?I am not even bloody insured for this track day? What kind of excuse can i make and sneak off?...... BUT............. to the rescue in his Brown Leather jacket & still sporting a George Michael stubble stood Mike58 (I had met Mike at the Sherbrook a few weeks passed and he had gave me some tips on track days), i asked if he would mind going out on track with me giving me advice,pointing out what i was doing wrong,were to accelerate,were to brake,the racing lines etc, so he agreed.
The white team was called out after Black,Purple & Orange had been out ripping up the track. I waited in the que behin a couple of Boxsters,997 C2,EVO IV,968's and a Ferrari 360. Mike sat next to me,the nerves that i had settled and as the red lights went off, i proceeded to inch up the pit lane,car after car from the White group joined the track. I asked Mike "" Do i floor it at the start? To which he replied YES, The C4S sped out but just i was feeling a bit comfortable the SEAT curves arrived, slight panic as i realised the gradient of the track was now downhill which meant i hit the brakes a bit more/early than was required but Mike assured me just to try and follow the cones,accelerate when i tell you,brake when i tell you, go right up to the cones and only turn when you have just passed them "" that advice was all that i needed and i proceeded to go round the track with only the Evo IV & 997 C2 going passed me so i felt ok.Chequered flag came up and i was advised to glide round the final lap letting the car cool down,car was parked up and left in gear without handbrake & trye pressures were taken & corrected if required (i am surprised that this type of advice is not given to the newbies as everyone else had there handbrakes yanked up).
I thought i had done a good job but i wanted to know what a C4S can do around a track in experienced hands so for the next 15min slot Mike took the car with me as passenger and showed me how the C4S can be driven,the speeds that we hit was incredible,the way he followed the lines helped the car shoot out of each corner at a speed i thought was impossible, i started to like my car as i had read allot of stuff on forums about the C4S being too heavy,a fake TT,not a track car,4WD getting in the way etc,etc but for me, it felt quick enough,brakes done there job and it handled better than i had imagined so the day was just getting better.
I took the car out myself for the rest of the day and by the last session i was the one doing the overtaking(safely may i add),i was hitting maybe 110-115 along the straights and although i am still nowhere near the level of Mike,Scott(Lauris),Gordon(GT3RS), i felt that i had learned allot, i understood the lines,i understood the braking points,i had actually driven a Porsche almost how i assume they should be driven. Now i do believe all the hype behind these cars.
Great day out and a big thanks to Mike,rest of the guys on the Forum,special thanks to Helen Dobson and the Sytner group for putting on a great day. I cant wait for the next one.
] what you did was the best way going out with some one who can guide you through it,there is also a photo of you on Greigs post you might want to have to remind you off the day.
